What is DBT-Informed Care at Milestones?
DBT is an evidence-based, goal-oriented treatment for children, teenagers, and their families who struggle with a variety of problems. We provide individual DBT-informed treatment and skills training in both an individual and group format. DBT targets problems such as:Emotional Dysregulation — highly sensitive to their own feelings and the feelings of others, beating themselves up over things that seem small, fast and intense mood changes, and having trouble moving on from negative feelings
Thinking in extremes — everything is great or everything is horrible, “sticky” thinking Interpersonal Problems — difficulty maintaining relationships, difficulty with assertiveness and maintaining self respect Impulsivity — making decisions quickly and without thinking through all of the consequences
Our Approach
Treatment Model: Families engaged in DBT-informed treatment receive specialized teaching and support from our clinical team to manage big behaviors and big emotions at home, at school and in the community. Children and adolescents engage in skills-based sessions to learn and practice new ways of managing their behaviors, emotions, and choices as they work towards the goal of mastering their mood. Parents work through ways to effectively support their children and teens. Our work with both parents and children/adolescents provides a safe, non-judgmental space to learn and practice new skills. For comprehensive DBT skills groups, we refer families and individuals to other specialized providers.
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Individual therapy sessions are typically held weekly or bi weekly for 30-45 minutes each. These sessions help children and adolescents learn and practice new behavioral and emotional regulation strategies to use in their day-to-day lives. Your child’s clinician will work with both you and your child to determine which DBT skills may be appropriate and beneficial to incorporate into treatment.
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These groups are held weekly for 75 minutes for 4 weeks for patients who may benefit from group-based skill development. DBT skills groups are provided in a structured, class-style format and include the following modules: Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Each module runs for 4 weeks and may be completed as a standalone group or in conjunction with the other modules. Groups at Milestones are held on an “as needed” basis. Please inquire with our team if we are running a skills group soon.
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Parents have the opportunity to work on specific problem behaviors and parenting goals by combining techniques learned in the skills group with parent management training. Sessions are held weekly or bi-weekly with an experienced clinician.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Families who are already receiving treatment at Milestones will not need to undergo a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. Instead, they will have a shorter appointment with one of our team clinicians to determine if DBT skills are an appropriate intervention given their treatment goals.
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DBT-Informed treatment aims to provide DBT skills to adolescents, children, and families who may benefit from DBT skills but are not experiencing severe enough impairment for comprehensive DBT to be warranted. Our DBT skills groups are run shorter in duration and on a module by module basis. Unlike comprehensive DBT, DBT skills at Milestones do not include on-call phone coaching or a 6-month commitment to treatment.
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Children/teens may complete the DBT skills group while working with an outside provider.
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Following a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, your clinician will work with you to determine if DBT-informed treatment is appropriate. If at any point it is determined that a higher level of care is warranted, referrals to comprehensive DBT will be provided.
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Children/Teens may participate in DBT-informed individual treatment as a standalone treatment or in combination with the DBT skills group. Similarly, children/teens may engage in DBT skills groups in the absence of individual treatment, if deemed appropriate following the diagnostic evaluation.
